World Romani Congress

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Flag of the Roma people

The World Romani Congress (Romani : Mashkarthemutno Romano Kongreso) is a series of forums for discussion of issues relating to Roma people around the world. As of 2023, there have been eleven World Romani Congresses. Among the chief goals of these congresses have been the standardization of the Romani language, improvements in civil rights and education, preservation of the Roma culture, reparations from World War II, and international recognition of the Roma as a national minority of Indian native origin.

Contents

First World Romani Congress

The first World Romani Congress was organized in 1971 in Orpington near London, England, United Kingdom, funded in part by the World Council of Churches and the Government of India. It was attended by 23 representatives from ten nations (Czechoslovakia, Finland, Norway, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Spain and Yugoslavia) and observers from Belgium, Canada, India and the United States. [1] Five sub-commissions were created to examine social affairs, education, war crimes, language, and culture. At the congress, the green and blue flag from the 1933 conference of the General Association of the Gypsies of Romania, [2] embellished with the red, sixteen-spoked chakra, was reaffirmed as the national emblem of the Roma people, and the song " Gelem, Gelem " was adopted as the Roma anthem. Usage of the word "Roma" (rather than variants of "gypsy") was also accepted by a majority of attendees; as a result, the International Gypsy Committee (founded in 1965) was renamed the Komiteto Lumniako Romano (International Rom Committee). [3]

Second World Romani Congress

The second Congress in April 1978, was held in Geneva, Switzerland, and attended by 120 delegates from 26 countries. Attendees helped transform the International Rom Committee into the International Romani Union. [4]

Third World Romani Congress

The third Congress was held in Göttingen, West Germany, in May 1981, with 600 delegates and observers from 28 countries. Attendees supported the call for Roma to be recognized as a national minority of Indian origin. The Porajmos was a major topic of discussion. [3]

Fourth World Romani Congress

In 1990, the fourth Congress was held in Serock, Poland, with 250 delegates attending. Discussion topics included World War II reparations, education, culture, public relations, language, and a Romani language encyclopedia. [3] The International Day of the Roma was also officially declared as April 8, in honour of the first World Romani Congress meeting in 1971.

Fifth World Romani Congress

The fifth World Romani Congress was held in Prague, Czech Republic in July 2000. Emil Ščuka was elected president of the International Romani Union. The Congress produced the official Declaration of the Romani non-territorial nation.

Sixth World Romani Congress

The sixth Congress was held in Lanciano, Italy, on October 8 and 9, 2004, with participation from over 200 delegates from 39 countries. Delegates chose a new president for the International Romani Union (Stanisław Stankiewicz of Poland) and a new president of the World Parliament of the IRU (Dragan Jevremovic of Austria). A new committee was set up to examine issues surrounding women, families and children.

Seventh World Romani Congress

The seventh Congress was held in Zagreb, Croatia, in October 2008. Almost 300 delegates from 28 countries attended the meeting, which released The Roma Nation Building Action Plan, a document which outlined plans for the development of Romani nationalism and representation. Esma Redžepova performed the Romani anthem.

Eighth World Romani Congress

The eighth Congress was held in Sibiu, Romania, in April 2013. Approximately 250 delegates from 34 countries attended the meeting.

Ninth World Romani Congress

The ninth Congress was held in Riga, Latvia, in August 2015. [5] Approximately 250 delegates from 25 countries were in attendance. 21 countries out of the 25 in attendance formed a Federation to tackle the issues afflicting the Romani people.

Tenth World Romani Congress

The tenth Congress was held in Skopje, North Macedonia, in March 2016. [6]

Eleventh World Romani Congress

The eleventh Congress was held in Berlin, Germany, on 15–17 May 2023. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romani people</span> Ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin

The Romani, also spelled Romany or Rromani and colloquially known as the Roma, are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of present-day state of Rajasthan. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed by historians to have occurred c. 1000 CE. Their name is from the Sanskrit word डोम which means a member of the Dom caste of travelling musicians and dancers. The Roma population moved west into the Ghaznavid Empire and later into the Byzantine Empire. The Roma are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romani Holocaust</span> Genocide against Romani in Europe

The Romani Holocaust was the planned effort by Nazi Germany and its World War II allies and collaborators to commit ethnic cleansing and eventually genocide against European Roma and Sinti peoples during the Holocaust era.

The Romani people have long been a part of the collective mythology of the West, where they were depicted as outsiders, aliens, and a threat. For centuries they were enslaved in Eastern Europe and hunted in Western Europe: the Pořajmos, Hitler's attempt at genocide, was one violent link in a chain of persecution that encompassed countries generally considered more tolerant of minorities, such as the United Kingdom. Even today, while there is a surge of Romani self-identification and pride, restrictive measures are being debated and passed by democratic states to curb the rights of the Romani people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanichal</span> Romani subgroup in the UK

The Romanichal are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. Most Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani vocabulary with English syntax. Romanichal residing in England, Scotland, and Wales are part of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community.

Bohemian Romani or Bohemian Romany was a dialect of Romani formerly spoken by the Romani people of Bohemia, the western part of today's Czech Republic. It became extinct after World War II, due to the genocide of most of its speakers in extermination camps by Nazi Germany.

The Romani people, also referred to as Roma, Sinti, or Kale, depending on the subgroup, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group that primarily lives in Europe. The Romani may have migrated from what is the modern Indian state of Rajasthan, migrating to the northwest around 250 BC. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed to have occurred beginning in about 500 AD. It has also been suggested that emigration from India may have taken place in the context of the raids by Mahmud of Ghazni. As these soldiers were defeated, they were moved west with their families into the Byzantine Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romani society and culture</span> Cultural traits of Romani ethnic groups

The Romani people are a distinct ethnic and cultural group of peoples living all across the globe, who share a family of languages and sometimes a traditional nomadic mode of life. Though their exact origins were unclear, recent studies show Kashmir in Northwest India is the most probable point of origin. Their language shares a common origin with, and is similar to, modern-day Gujarati and Rajasthani, borrowing loanwords from languages they encountered as they migrated from India. In Europe, even though their culture has been victimized by other cultures, they have still found a way to maintain their heritage and society. Indian elements in Romani culture are limited, with the exception of the language. Romani culture focuses heavily on family. The Roma traditionally live according to relatively strict moral codes. The ethnic culture of the Romani people who live in central, eastern and southeastern European countries developed through a long, complex process of continuous active interaction with the culture of their surrounding European population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Romani people</span> Ethnic flag

The Romani flag or the flag of the Roma is the international ethnic flag of the Romani people, historically known as "Gypsies", which form a stateless minority in countries across Eurasia, Africa, the Americas, and Australasia. It was approved by the representatives of various Romani communities at the first and second World Romani Congresses (WRC), in 1971 and 1978. The flag consists of a background of blue and green, representing the heavens and earth, respectively; it also contains a 16-spoke red dharmachakra, or cartwheel, in the center. The latter element stands for the itinerant tradition of the Romani people and is also an homage to the flag of India, added to the flag by scholar Weer Rajendra Rishi. It superseded a number of tribal emblems and banners, several of which evoked claims of Romani descent from the Ancient Egyptians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Romani Day</span> International observance; April 8

The International Romani Day is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people.

"Gelem, Gelem" is a song composed by Žarko Jovanović, often used as the anthem of the Romani people. The title has been adapted in many countries by local Roma to match their native orthography and spoken dialect of the Romani language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romani diaspora</span> Dispersion of the Roma people

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The Romani people in Poland, also known as the Roma, qualify as an ethnic minority group in Poland of Indo-Aryan origins. The Council of Europe regards the endonym "Roma" more appropriate when referencing the people, and "Romani" when referencing cultural characteristics. The term Cyganie is considered an exonym in Poland.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gheorghe A. Lăzăreanu-Lăzurică</span>

Gheorghe A. Lăzăreanu-Lăzurică or George Lăzurică, also known as Lăzărescu-Lăzurică or Lăzărică, was a leader of the Romani (Gypsy) community in Romania, also remembered for his support of Romania's interwar far-right. Originally a musician and formally trained entrepreneur from an assimilated background, he became conscious about his ethnic roots while serving with the Romanian Land Forces in World War I. A pioneer of Romani-themed literature, he became active within the General Association of Gypsies in Romania in 1933, but broke away that same year to establish the General Union of Roma in Romania. From September 1933 to May 1934, Lăzurică was also a "Voivode of the Gypsies", recognized as such by various local tribes. He and his followers came to resent ethnic designation as "Gypsies", and pleaded for the usage of "Romanies", first proposed to them by Nicolae Constantin Batzaria. Lăzurică himself tried to introduce the term Zgripți as a reference to the people's legendary ancestors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santino Spinelli</span> Italian musician, composer and teacher

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References

  1. Kenrick, Donald (1971), "The World Romani Congress - April 1971", Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, 50, parts 3-4: 101–108
  2. Saul, Nicholas; Tebbutt, Susan (2004). The role of the Romanies: images and counter-images of "Gypsies"/Romanies in European cultures. Liverpool University Press. p. 221, fn.2. ISBN   978-0-85323-679-5.
  3. 1 2 3 Timeline of Romani History - Patrin
  4. Timeline of Romani History - Patrin Archived November 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "IRU – INTERNATIONAL ROMANI UNION – INTERNATIONAL ROMANI UNION" . Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  6. "Beginnings and Growth of transnational Movements of Roma to achieve Civil Rights after the Holocaust".
  7. "ROMANO LUMJAKO KONGRESI - SVETSKI KONGRES ROMA". Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.